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1 of 253523 objects
Don Quixote cured of his folly by wisdom c.1786
Woven silk and wool tapestry | 351.0 x 316.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 3191
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One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the story of Don Quixote, based on the novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The scene illustrated is Don Quixote cured of his folly by wisdom (Dom Quichotte guery de sa folie par la sagesse), within a highly decorative pink ground in imitation of crimson damask (damas cramoisi) decorated with fruit, flowers and trophies. Woven in the workshop of Jacques Neilson after a design by Charles-Antoine Coypel, one of four panels in the Royal Collection from a series of twenty-eight.
This series of tapestries was first mentioned in the Gobelins records in 1714, and was repeatedly rewoven throughout the eighteenth century, sometimes with modified borders. The borders eclipse the scenes in importance and the designers of the former were paid correspondingly more than the artist, C. Coypel, who provided the cartoons for the scenes. He was paid 1200 livres on January 18, 1728 for the design for this piece, which he had painted the year before.Provenance
The four tapestries in this group were presented on 18 July 1788 by Louis XVI to the artist Richard Cosway, as a gesture of thanks for the four tapestry cartoons by Giulio Romano of the history of Scipio which Cosway had given to the King for display in the Louvre. Cosway gave them to George IV shortly afterwards; they were eventually hung in Carlton House until c. 1823, when they were moved to Buckingham Palace.
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Creator(s)
(tapestry manufacturer)(designer)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Woven silk and wool tapestry
Measurements
351.0 x 316.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Dom Quichotte guery de sa folie par la sagesse